Are you saying that the image from the reversing camera doesn't show up on the MMI screen automatically, when you select reverse gear. I'd have to push a button each time? Or that you need to adjust the settings via the MMI, then the car remembers your preference.

Or have I misunderstood completely?

Thanks.

Click to expand...

No, sorry, no reversing camera here, just basic rear parking sensors. However there is no visual display of the sensors and no way to enable it in the MMI. I see from the VCDS pages that is it available on the car. Even our Skoda shows a display of the distance to an object when reversing.

I'm hoping the gearbox gets better but my TT was the same and I didn't bother getting it looked at but I'm not putting up with it in this car! Not sure if its the same box or a different one?

As for the stickers I agree it cheapens the look of the car and as I drive with the visors down all the time it looks s**t from outside, I must look into who was talking about getting one on here and follow it up. I seem to remember it was about £70

Click to expand...

Not done it yet. Going back in for a second visit in a weeks time. After that if it's not fixed I shall seek legal advice. They will get away with nothing as far as I'm concerned!

Just a quick couple of points after 2 weeks and 400 miles, having had various VAG performance cars for many years.

The MPG will take many 000's of miles before you start getting close to the claimed figures. In my opinion, most VAG engines take at least 10k before they are fully loosened up. Only then do you start to get decent MPG.

Its the same with the gearbox. My manual is quite notchy now - but I am treating it with care (especially when cold in winter) and I am pretty certain over the coming years, it will bed in and be slick and fast.

I am still getting used to the steering. I am not complaining - its just a matter of getting used to it. At the moment, I am tending to turn in a bit too sharp on slow corners.

All in all, I love the car. I took my Mk6 Golf R out yesterday, for the first time since buying the S3 and it felt relatively slow, uncomfortable and unrefined compared to the S3.

Just a quick couple of points after 2 weeks and 400 miles, having had various VAG performance cars for many years.

The MPG will take many 000's of miles before you start getting close to the claimed figures. In my opinion, most VAG engines take at least 10k before they are fully loosened up. Only then do you start to get decent MPG.

Its the same with the gearbox. My manual is quite notchy now - but I am treating it with care (especially when cold in winter) and I am pretty certain over the coming years, it will bed in and be slick and fast.

I am still getting used to the steering. I am not complaining - its just a matter of getting used to it. At the moment, I am tending to turn in a bit too sharp on slow corners.

All in all, I love the car. I took my Mk6 Golf R out yesterday, for the first time since buying the S3 and it felt relatively slow, uncomfortable and unrefined compared to the S3.

Click to expand...

Soulboy, thanks for this. I'm moving from a Golf R to an S3 as I'm looking for the performance coupled with comfort (getting old) so your post was exactly what I wanted to read.

Soulboy, thanks for this. I'm moving from a Golf R to an S3 as I'm looking for the performance coupled with comfort (getting old) so your post was exactly what I wanted to read.

Click to expand...

Hi N3DXT

Do I remember that name from TSN in days gone by??

I cant tell you how much I love the car over the Golf. The engine just pulls from low revs all the way through to the red line. You can overtake in 6th from about 2000rpm without having to shift down on the motorway.

The interior is streets ahead of the golf, as are the seats. Its so much more refined.

Soulboy, thanks for this. I'm moving from a Golf R to an S3 as I'm looking for the performance coupled with comfort (getting old) so your post was exactly what I wanted to read.

Click to expand...

Also exactly what I want to hear. Upgrading from an R. The thing that frustrates me most is the lack of pull from less than 2400rpm. Very different from the MkV GTI I had prior that would could go from about 1800. I am also after a bit more big-city sophistication. Can't wait, can't wait etc etc

Also exactly what I want to hear. Upgrading from an R. The thing that frustrates me most is the lack of pull from less than 2400rpm. Very different from the MkV GTI I had prior that would could go from about 1800. I am also after a bit more big-city sophistication. Can't wait, can't wait etc etc

Click to expand...

Me too me too lol. Saying that, missus loved the R for its lag(!) compared to the mkv stage 2 gti. I personally never really warmed up to the R because of it. It was also very difficult to shift the car around with lift off unlike the gti and the soon to come s3.

I had to have my two week old S3 Sportback recovered by the RAC yesterday. The car wouldnt start properly after a 100 mile drive down to Gloucester but once it had, the idle was rough and it had no boost before 3000rpm. Even up around 4000 or 5000 i could not get full boost and it clearly wasnt pulling right. No warning lights at this stage which seemed odd. I also had more noticable hissing / whistling noise under throttle loads. I drove on for another 15 miles or so to see if it would clear but no joy. I had to stop at one point to let a lorry turn right and the auto start / stop kicked. Only it didnt start and left me stranded for a minute of so on a fast moving A road whilst I tried to start it on the key......

I parked up at my destination (stage 2 of the Wyedean Rally) and left it for a couple of hours. It was exactly the same once i had got it started again so I drive a couple more miles down to Coleford. Whilst looking for somewhere to park in town, the engine warning light finally came on....i called Audi assist and was attended by an RAC patrol. A physical check could not see anything wrong so he tried to check the diagnostics. This was not possible as the S3 8V was not available on his diagnostics platform which i really cant believe.....this was Audi assist after all. He could only suggest a faulty sensor or potentially a pipe that is split / off which he couldnt spot?

The upshot of all this is that the car was brought home on a low loader and i need to find a way of getting it to a dealer tomorrow.

I had to have my two week old S3 Sportback recovered by the RAC yesterday. The car wouldnt start properly after a 100 mile drive down to Gloucester but once it had, the idle was rough and it had no boost before 3000rpm. Even up around 4000 or 5000 i could not get full boost and it clearly wasnt pulling right. No warning lights at this stage which seemed odd. I also had more noticable hissing / whistling noise under throttle loads. I drove on for another 15 miles or so to see if it would clear but no joy. I had to stop at one point to let a lorry turn right and the auto start / stop kicked. Only it didnt start and left me stranded for a minute or so on a fast moving A road whilst I tried to start it on the key......

I parked up at my destination (stage 2 of the Wyedean Rally) and left it for a couple of hours. It was exactly the same once i had got it started again so I drive a couple more miles down to Coleford. Whilst looking for somewhere to park in town, the engine warning light finally came on....i called Audi assist and was attended by an RAC patrol. A physical check could not see anything wrong so he tried to check the diagnostics. This was not possible as the S3 8V was not available on his diagnostics platform which i really cant believe.....this was Audi assist after all. He could only suggest a faulty sensor or potentially a pipe that is split / off which he couldnt spot?

The upshot of all this is that the car was brought home on a low loader and i need to find a way of getting it to a dealer tomorrow.

I had to have my two week old S3 Sportback recovered by the RAC yesterday. The car wouldnt start properly after a 100 mile drive down to Gloucester but once it had, the idle was rough and it had no boost before 3000rpm. Even up around 4000 or 5000 i could not get full boost and it clearly wasnt pulling right. No warning lights at this stage which seemed odd. I also had more noticable hissing / whistling noise under throttle loads. I drove on for another 15 miles or so to see if it would clear but no joy. I had to stop at one point to let a lorry turn right and the auto start / stop kicked. Only it didnt start and left me stranded for a minute or so on a fast moving A road whilst I tried to start it on the key......

I parked up at my destination (stage 2 of the Wyedean Rally) and left it for a couple of hours. It was exactly the same once i had got it started again so I drive a couple more miles down to Coleford. Whilst looking for somewhere to park in town, the engine warning light finally came on....i called Audi assist and was attended by an RAC patrol. A physical check could not see anything wrong so he tried to check the diagnostics. This was not possible as the S3 8V was not available on his diagnostics platform which i really cant believe.....this was Audi assist after all. He could only suggest a faulty sensor or potentially a pipe that is split / off which he couldnt spot?

The upshot of all this is that the car was brought home on a low loader and i need to find a way of getting it to a dealer tomorrow.

Not happy in the slightest

Rich

Click to expand...

I bet you're not happy but I'm sure you're in the minority.
Once it's fixed under warranty, I'm sure you'll have many years of trouble free motoring.
I'd be interested to know what's failed after such a short time.

I bet you're not happy but I'm sure you're in the minority.
Once it's fixed under warranty, I'm sure you'll have many years of trouble free motoring.
I'd be interested to know what's failed after such a short time.

Click to expand...

I would also be interested to know as well.

I wouldn't worry about getting it to the dealers either... I would just call Audi breakdown again and it will be their problem they should also sort you out a hire car in the meantime so you will be ok!

I've had a pretty mixed car ownership experience since December. I love the car, nothing wrong with it at all but the morons who have at some stage touched it have really put a downer on the car for me... The idiot "valeter" at the dealership ruined the paintwork on a few of the panels which I only found out about when handing the car over to a pro-detailer. I recently had the panels resprayed however the bodyshop's own idiot detailer proceeded to then put fresh scratches all over the car much to the dismay of my detailer who is about ready to kill himself at this point... Oh and I got a screw in a 1,500 mile old tyre so have had to replace that also... The car currently stands me £500 in bad luck and I've not been able to drive the car since Tuesday

I have noticed that other road users seem to hate me more than usual, dunno if anybody else has noticed this?

I wouldn't worry about getting it to the dealers either... I would just call Audi breakdown again and it will be their problem they should also sort you out a hire car in the meantime so you will be ok!

Click to expand...

That doesn't sound right

According to the Audi Assist T&C's, a second recovery can be chargeable?
Also - a hire car is only applicable under "Recovery" and you want to continue on your original journey.

No doubt the dealer will provide a courtesy car, subject to availability, and will probably assist with getting the car there.

If there is something wrong with a car less than 6 months old and you make he right noises you will not be left in the lurch.

Why didn't the recovery take you to dealer in the first place?

I think sales of goods act is also be on your side so I wouldn't worry...

Click to expand...

I arrived back at 8.45pm last night so the dealer would have been shut and I thought it best to have the car at home. I am only 8 miles away so plan to be there with the car at 8am. It will only start with some throttle applied and still sounds rough. I have not driven it today but no warning lights have appeared since the RAC looked at it.

I arrived back at 8.45pm last night so the dealer would have been shut and I thought it best to have the car at home. I am only 8 miles away so plan to be there with the car at 8am. It will only start with some throttle applied and still sounds rough. I have not driven it today but no warning lights have appeared since the RAC looked at it.

I do hope it is something simple like a split pipe or sesnor failure.

Rich

Click to expand...

That's what I was getting at mate. If the reason the Audi breakdown couldn't take you to dealers is cos it was out of hours then surely you are entitled to get them back out to take you to dealers when it is open again.

I had a similar thing with my missus' Clio where we had to get them out 3 times for the same issue before they sorted it. Turned out to be a collapsed suspension bearing - car was less than 2 months old. No hassles about getting them out.

I agree with you that no-one should have to argue the toss for a £30k brand new car.

Unfortunately what works against us as customers, that that the agreement for Audi Assist is between Audi and the RAC, not between you and Audi. So speaking direct to the RAC would do no good.

The scenario about taking the car to a dealer when it is shut is specifically covered in the T&C's:

Recovery does not cover:
â¢ A second Recovery if:
c) the desired destination cannot accept the Vehicle due to company opening hours or other restrictions.
If a second Recovery is required this service can be provided but a charge will be made dependent on the service required, time of day and distance. These charges will be payable by credit/debit card prior to the relevant service being provided.

Click to expand...

No doubt Audi Customer Service or the dealer would step in to cover this, but as far as the agreement between Audi and the RAC go for Audi Assist, its in black and white.

I had to have my two week old S3 Sportback recovered by the RAC yesterday. The car wouldnt start properly after a 100 mile drive down to Gloucester but once it had, the idle was rough and it had no boost before 3000rpm. Even up around 4000 or 5000 i could not get full boost and it clearly wasnt pulling right. No warning lights at this stage which seemed odd. I also had more noticable hissing / whistling noise under throttle loads. I drove on for another 15 miles or so to see if it would clear but no joy. I had to stop at one point to let a lorry turn right and the auto start / stop kicked. Only it didnt start and left me stranded for a minute or so on a fast moving A road whilst I tried to start it on the key......

I parked up at my destination (stage 2 of the Wyedean Rally) and left it for a couple of hours. It was exactly the same once i had got it started again so I drive a couple more miles down to Coleford. Whilst looking for somewhere to park in town, the engine warning light finally came on....i called Audi assist and was attended by an RAC patrol. A physical check could not see anything wrong so he tried to check the diagnostics. This was not possible as the S3 8V was not available on his diagnostics platform which i really cant believe.....this was Audi assist after all. He could only suggest a faulty sensor or potentially a pipe that is split / off which he couldnt spot?

The upshot of all this is that the car was brought home on a low loader and i need to find a way of getting it to a dealer tomorrow.

Not happy in the slightest

Rich

Click to expand...

Mine is at huddersfield Audi now been looked at, I had the same rough idle every now and then and also felt a slight loss in power admittedly not as much as yours but it did feel down. They've had the car since last Wednesday, technician rang me to say it basically was running 100% and they couldn't fault it. Firstly they told me over the phone without seeing it that it was down to me mixing fuel types (95 and 98 RON). I didn't really believe this so wanted it checking out to make sure everything was ok along wth fixing my muting stereo that has a mind of its own when it comes to volume. Apparently not unheard of when B+o is fitted. Tomorrow is judgement day so we'll see how it behaves when they drop it off.

I had to have my two week old S3 Sportback recovered by the RAC yesterday. The car wouldnt start properly after a 100 mile drive down to Gloucester but once it had, the idle was rough and it had no boost before 3000rpm. Even up around 4000 or 5000 i could not get full boost and it clearly wasnt pulling right. No warning lights at this stage which seemed odd. I also had more noticable hissing / whistling noise under throttle loads. I drove on for another 15 miles or so to see if it would clear but no joy. I had to stop at one point to let a lorry turn right and the auto start / stop kicked. Only it didnt start and left me stranded for a minute or so on a fast moving A road whilst I tried to start it on the key......

I parked up at my destination (stage 2 of the Wyedean Rally) and left it for a couple of hours. It was exactly the same once i had got it started again so I drive a couple more miles down to Coleford. Whilst looking for somewhere to park in town, the engine warning light finally came on....i called Audi assist and was attended by an RAC patrol. A physical check could not see anything wrong so he tried to check the diagnostics. This was not possible as the S3 8V was not available on his diagnostics platform which i really cant believe.....this was Audi assist after all. He could only suggest a faulty sensor or potentially a pipe that is split / off which he couldnt spot?

The upshot of all this is that the car was brought home on a low loader and i need to find a way of getting it to a dealer tomorrow.

I have been told it requires a new high pressure fuel pump and a new turbo. No route cause given yet but this follows a systemic work through the diagnostic checks. Both items are on back order so no idea yet when I will see the car again. I am probably not going to add to this topic for the moment whilst I discuss the issue with Audi directly. Car had done 1300 pretty steady miles....

Well I am not in an S3 and something "nice" may mean different things to different people - i have a 210 bhp Q3 S-Line.

I go up to the Lakes this afternoon for a weekend away - a trip that was plannned partly around the new car. Audi rejected my request for something "nice" for the weekend as well as an S3 to drive whilst mine is repaired. In fact. I have no offer of any goodwill from Audi at all, despite the following issue surrounding this car;

3 month delay to delivery due to dealer admin error
Wrong spec on delivery (full leather instead of alcantara)
Car failure after two weeks / 1300 miles and no ETA for return yet.

As it is a lease car and i am the driver only, not the owner of the vehicle, I do not qualify for any goodwill gesture from Audi. That is the reason I have been given.

I did point out that it is me that chooses the model of vehicle that i drive, that it will cost me £15k over three years in BIK and trade up and that I have been the only person impacted by these issues. This counts for nothing apparently. And neither does the fact that my wife and I have ordered between us, since 2001, 6 Audi's, 2 Golf GTi's and a Scirocco. Oh, and a couple of Mini's. The point being the future potential value aspect that Audi have put at risk. My two sons are driving now and both of them are car nuts. And both of them look like having a reasonable amount of income coming in as their careers progress to indulge their interest.

All I asked for, and all it would have taken, was for an RS / big S series demo for this weekend and a short term replacement S3. I would have then been able to tell everyone who asks what a great company Audi are and how they really support their customers when things occasionally do go wrong.

I just hope after all this that the car comes back and is ok. I have no choice in the matter as the lease company will not reject car, something I would have done had I been the owner....

Sorry to hear Rich, fingers crossed the S3 comes back and you have no more issues with it. Don't worry you are not alone with the loan car situation a friend of mine bought the a new RS5 coming from a C63 AMG and it broke down on him 3 times in 1 week he asked for a similar replacement to the RS5 but was given the keys to the Q3 TDI.

Picked up my Glacier White S3 with performance pack (aus) last Friday so thought I would post some thoughts.

The Good;
More comfy than previous 07 GTI even when magnetic ride is on dynamic (firmest setting)
Magnetic ride is awesome -super comfy in comfort mode
Exhaust sounds awesome
All wheel drive is great no wheel slip if you floor it
Super sports seats take the interior to another level- and are very comfortable
LED headlights look great and really light up the road like daylight
Reverse camera and 360 degree sensors are handy
Sat nav graphics are nice
MMI is well put together and easy to use
Power is awesome... Left a clubsport r8 behind
Stronic is brilliant... Seems better than the GTI dsg especially at low speed and on hills
That net in the boot that holds stuff still

The Average:
Lack of storage space
Large drinks in drink holders can lean on air con controls etc
Can't lock glove box with key
No rear drink holders
The B&O system - mainly because I had Focal KRX3s and KRX2s with an Alpine AMP in the GTI. The B&O system sounds clear but lacks range and depth and has no equaliser or crossover settings. CDs also sound average.... SD card and radio almost sound better even though the CDs should be higher quality.
Aussies don't get all the connect functionality... We don't even get a SIM card slot.

The bad:
I think my passanger door (interior) has touch up PAINT on the top front edge.... It's shinny, hard and under a bright light looks slightly different colour. It caught my eye because its shinny...... Now it's really annoying me. Will ask the dealer about it.

The summary:

Brilliant car!!!! Drive won't disappoint, massive step up in power and luxury over my previous car. Have to watch the speedo....... The car gets to the speed limit sooooooooo quickly

The 3dr comes with 2 rear seat cupholders, moulded in the outboard edges of the rear seats
The SB and Saloon don't have rear cupholders, but if you specify through load, this will come wtih central armrest with 2 cupholders.

The 3dr comes with 2 rear seat cupholders, moulded in the outboard edges of the rear seats
The SB and Saloon don't have rear cupholders, but if you specify through load, this will come wtih central armrest with 2 cupholders.

Click to expand...

Didn't know that. I would have liked to get the through load for my snowboard but didn't want to wait 6 months so ordered one that was already in the boat.

Useful Searches

About US

Our community has been around for many years and pride ourselves on offering unbiased, critical discussion among people of all different backgrounds. We are working every day to make sure our community is one of the best.